ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 offers a closer look at the work of Bluma Zeigarnik and her collaboration with Lev Vygotsky and Alexander Luria. It introduces the Soviet period of her career when she developed the theory of thought disturbance, and pathopsychology – a branch of medical psychology concerned with the theory and clinical procedure of diagnosis of mental disturbances. The chapter suggests that Zeigarnik’s work shares the theoretical understanding of mental processes and is coherent with Luria and Vygotsky’s take on psychoanalysis. A close reading of Zeigarnik’s texts and her references to Freud suggests she was properly acquainted with psychoanalytic theory. A parallel reading of Zeigarnik’s take on schizophrenia with Freud’s work indicates their methodological alignment.
